The General Election on Tuesday, November 8th brought 255,699 Alaskans to the polls, 4,997 of whom were in Alaska’s District 39, 974 of whom were Nome residents.

These three different demographics — voters in Nome, in District 39, and in Alaska, statewide — agreed on most of the choices on the November 8th ballot, re-electing Lisa Murkowski, Don Young, Donny Olson, and Neal Foster, all with wide margins, and approving Alaska’s Ballot Measure 1. But District 39 and its largest town broke from state trends by supporting Hillary Clinton for president, not Donald Trump, and by voting “Yes” on Ballot Measure 2, which was ultimately rejected by the rest of the state.

Among the individual communities of District 39 — places like Unalakleet, White Mountain, Kotlik, Nunam Iqua, Wales, Savoonga, and Gambell — there was broad consensus on each of the ballot choices. Everycommunity in District 39 voted the same way for US President and for Ballot Measure 1 (for Hillary Clinton and “Yes” on 1), and they were nearly unanimous on US Senator and House races and Ballot Measure 2, with only a few villages failing to give majorities to Lisa Murkowski, Don Young, or “Yes” on 2. And there was no ballot choice on which Nome and District 39, of which it is a part, substantially disagreed on Election Day.

Let’s look at the data.

Voters cast their ballots at Old St. Joe’s. Photo: Emily Russell, KNOM.

President of the United States

Both Nome and District 39 chose Hillary Clinton for president over Donald Trump; Clinton edged out Trump by 2.8% in Nome (31 votes: Clinton 418, Trump 387) and by 31.6% in the district overall (a margin of 1,578 votes). In fact, Clinton carried every single community within District 39 with the exception of District-39-wide absentee ballots, in which Clinton and Trump merely tied at 35 votes each.

Clinton’s margin of victory in Nome, at less than 3%, is among the narrowest of her wins in District 39. By contrast, she carried the village of Savoonga with a margin of 58.1% (Clinton won Savoonga 67.2% to Trump’s 9.1%, or 156 to 21 in votes). She won Shishmaref by 52 points (64.6% to 12.6%, 128 votes to Trump’s 25), Gambell by 57 points (70.7% to 13.8%, 123 to 24), and Koyukuk by nearly 70 points (74.4% to 4.7%, 32 votes for Clinton to 2 votes for Trump).

In the state of Alaska, however, these trends reversed. Trump easily won the state by 15 points, with 51% support (130,415 votes) to Clinton’s 36% (93,007).

Nome’s Votes: US President

District 39’s Votes: US President

Alaska’s Votes: US President

U.S. Senator for Alaska

Unlike their votes for president, both Nome and District 39 largely mirrored statewide trends in voting for Alaska’s US Senate race. Support for victorious incumbent Lisa Murkowski was stronger in Nome (53.6%) and in District 39 (58.3%) than statewide (43.6%).

In all three voting regions (Nome, District 39, Alaska), support for Democratic challenger Ray Metcalfe hovered around 9-11%, while support for Libertarian challenger Joe Miller ranged from 22-29%.

Similar to their ballots for president, District 39’s communities voted in near-lockstep when choosing Lisa Murkowski over her challengers. The only village that did not yield a Murkowski win was Stebbins, which gave the edge to Joe Miller, 57.8% to 33.3% (59 votes to Murkowski’s 34). Ray Metcalfe did not win any local contest in District 39.

Other District 39 communities, by contrast, went for the incumbent by large margins: Galena voted Murkowski over Miller, 69.8% to 14.3% (132 votes to 27); Mountain Village, 76.5% to 10.8% (127-18); Hooper Bay, 62.5% to 21% (125-42).

Nome’s Votes: US Senator

District 39’s Votes: US Senator

Alaska’s Votes: US Senator

U.S. House Representative for Alaska

Don Young will be sent back to Congress as Alaska’s sole seat in the US House of Representatives. Nome, District 39, and the state of Alaska gave similar percentages of ballot support both to Young and his challengers (Democrat Steve Lindbeck, Libertarian Jim McDermott, and independent Bernie Souphanavong). Between the three demographic slices of Nome, District 39, and Alaska as a whole (the three pie charts below), Young captured the most support in District 39 (57.1%), while Lindbeck was strongest in Nome specifically (37.7%).

Similar to president and US Senator, District 39’s individual communities voted very consistently to each other. Every single District 39 community gave Young majority or plurality victories, with one exception: in the village of Teller, Steve Lindbeck defeated Don Young, 32 votes to 31. The US House race was also very close in Wales, in the opposite direction: Young edged out Lindbeck, 20-19.

Nome’s Votes: US House Representative

District 39’s Votes: US House Representative

Alaska’s Votes: US House Representative

Ballot Measure 1

Ballot Measure 1, a proposal to allow Alaska PFD applicants to be automatically registered as voters, passed easily, with wide-margin victories in Nome, District 39, and the state as a whole.

“Yes” votes for Ballot Measure 1 exceeded “No” votes in every locality in District 39; no District 39 community voted against the measure.

Nome’s Votes: Ballot Measure 1

District 39’s Votes: Ballot Measure 1

Alaska’s Votes: Ballot Measure 1

Ballot Measure 2

Alaska’s Ballot Measure 2 proposed to amend the state constitution to “expand the State’s authority to incur debt” by allowing it to issue college / postsecondary student loans backed by the State.

“Yes” votes for the measure narrowly won over “No” votes in Nome; “Yes” won with a greater margin in District 39, overall. Most District 39 localities voted “Yes,” although “No” votes prevailed in Pilot Station (81 “No” to 65 “Yes”) and White Mountain (34-31). The measure garnered tie votes in Kotlik (50 votes each, “Yes” and “No”) and in Nunam Iqua (16-16).

Statewide, however, the measure failed by a substantial margin.

Nome’s Votes: Ballot Measure 2

District 39’s Votes: Ballot Measure 2

Alaska’s Votes: Ballot Measure 2

Alaska State Senate, District T

Incumbent Alaska State Senator Donny Olson ran unopposed in District T, which includes Nome and Alaska House District 39. Nome, District 39, and District T all voted similarly; Olson was reelected easily.

Nome’s Votes: Alaska State Senate

District 39’s Votes: Alaska State Senate

District T’s Votes: Alaska State Senate

Alaska State House, District 39

Incumbent Alaska State House Representative Neal Foster ran unopposed in District 39, which includes Nome. Foster was re-elected.

Nome’s Votes: Alaska State House

District 39’s Votes: Alaska State House

Turnout

With a rate of 36.7%, the city of Nome had one of the lowest voter turnout rates (the proportion of voter cards cast to the total number of registered voters) in Alaska’s District 39. The District 39 average was 45.5% (4,997 voters out of 10,976 registered). The highest turnout rate in the district was in Koyukuk, with 61.6% turnout: 45 of 73 registered voters submitted ballots. Huslia’s turnout was also high, at 60.7% (105 out of 173).

In District 39, after Nome, Unalakleet had the second largest number of voters go to the polls (258 ballots submitted out of 558 registered, for a 46.2% turnout rate), followed by Savoonga (238 ballots out of 426 registered, a 55.9% turnout).

Across the state of Alaska, turnout on Tuesday is currently counted at 255,699 ballots out of 528,671 registered voters, making for a 48.4% turnout rate.

Registered Voter Turnout, Nome

Registered Voter Turnout, District 39

Registered Voter Turnout, Alaska

Note

In the pie charts for ballot contests above, each contains a “No Vote” slice; this represents the proportion of voters — whether in Nome, in District 39, or in Alaska statewide — who submitted a ballot but did not make a choice for that particular ballot question. For instance, a person who voted but did not make a selection for Ballot Measure 1 is still represented in the Ballot Measure 1 pie chart, within the “No Vote” slice. This is done so that the number of votes for each demographic — Nome, District 39, and Alaska — always adds up to the same number of voters in each ballot question (974 voters in Nome, 4,997 voters in District 39, 255,699 voters in Alaska).

]]>26162Preliminary Nome Election Results Show Support for Murkowski, Young, and Clintonhttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2016/11/09/preliminary-nome-election-results-show-support-for-murkowski-young-and-clinton/
Wed, 09 Nov 2016 19:26:42 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=26150Less than half of Alaska's registered voters cast ballots in the November 8th General Election.]]>

Preliminary results show Lisa Murkowski and Don Young will again serve Alaska as U.S. Senator and U.S. Representative, respectively.

The latest results, as of 4:05 AM Wednesday, show Murkowski with a lead at 44.05% of the vote (110,226 votes across the state), followed by Libertarian Joe Miller at 29.52% (73,876 votes).

In Nome, 966 total votes have been counted so far for the senatorial race. From Nome sub-districts 1 and 2 (combined), Murkowski took 522 votes, followed by Miller with 253, Democrat Ray Metcalfe with 101, 78 votes for independent Margaret Stock, and four votes each for unaffiliated candidates Breck Craig and Ted Gianoutsos.

Republican Don Young has an estimated 50% of the statewide vote, easily defeating Democrat Steve Lindbeck at 36.4%.

Nome voters mirrored the statewide trend for the US House race, with 487 votes for Young, 367 for Lindbeck, 76 for Libertarian Jim McDermott, 19 votes for unaffiliated candidate Bernie Souphanavong, and 6 votes for write-in candidates.

For Senate District T, Democrat Donny Olson ran unopposed, taking 805 votes from Nome, with 63 write-ins. In House District 39, sole candidate Democratic Representative Neal Foster received 798 votes in Nome, with 58 write-ins. Both will serve another term in the Alaska Legislature.

And in the presidential race, Nome broke with both the state and the U.S. electoral college votes by siding with Democrat Hillary Clinton, who received 418 votes, trailed by now-President-Elect Donald Trump, Republican, with 387 votes.

Less than half (48%) of registered voters in Alaska cast ballots in the the November 8th General Election.

The Alaska Division of Elections looks to certify unofficial results by November 29th.

]]>26150Who’s on the Ballot? An Overview of Alaska’s District 39 Candidates in Election 2016http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2016/11/07/whos-on-the-ballot-an-overview-of-alaskas-district-39-candidates-in-election-2016/
Tue, 08 Nov 2016 01:33:03 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=26102Nov. 8th is election day for voters all across the Seward Peninsula, Alaska, and the nation. In district 39, voters will choose candidates for five different races.]]>

November 8th is election day for voters all across the Seward Peninsula, the state, and the country. The Seward Peninsula, in district 39-T, will be voting on five different races.

At the state level, voters will choose candidates in the senate and house of representatives. In Nome, and much of the Seward Peninsula, Democrat Donny Olson is running for senate and Democrat Neal Foster is running for state representative.

On the federal level, Alaskans will vote for a senator and house of representatives candidate. Running for US senate are: Democrat Ray Metcalfe, Libertarian Joe Miller, Republican incumbent Lisa Murkowski, and unaffiliated candidates Margret Stock, Breck Craig, and Ted Gianoutsos.

Early voting has begun at the Elections office on Front Street. On Tuesday, voters can cast their ballots at Old St. Joe’s or at the Elections office; hours are 7 am to 8 pm.

An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the poll opening time at Old St. Joe’s. The hours have been corrected.

]]>26102New State Committee to Assess Rural Water & Sewer Issueshttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2016/08/03/new-state-committee-to-assess-rural-water-sewer-issues/
Wed, 03 Aug 2016 20:03:16 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=24333Water and sewer infrastructure in rural Alaska will soon be under review by a new state advisory committee. House Bill 209, sponsored by Nome Representative Neal Foster, was signed into law on July 28th.]]>

Water and sewer infrastructure in rural Alaska will soon be under review by a new state advisory committee.

House Bill 209, sponsored by Nome Representative Neal Foster, was signed into law on July 28th. It forms an Alaska Water & Sewer Advisory Committee that will assess current issues with water and sewer conditions, including looking at the amount of homes lacking safe water and sewer. Funding, technology, and previous state and federal efforts will also be under review.

The ten-person committee is under the Alaska Legislature with the members appointed by the Bush Caucus, including members from both the House and Senate, federal and state agencies, as well as from nonprofit tribal health corporations. Two public members from rural communities, as well as a civil engineer, will also serve on the committee.

$51.5 million dollars is in the current state budget for village water and sewer projects; it’s an amount estimated to cover only eight percent of the need. Close to forty percent of that funding currently covers maintenance for existing systems.

The new Alaska Water and Sewer Advisory Committee is expected to present a report on its findings for future legislation by December 1, 2017.

NOME, Alaska — The City of Emmonak has issued a disaster declaration after a fire destroyed five commercial fishing buildings last month, causing $3 million of damage. The city manager has sent the declaration to Gov. Bill Walker and the Alaska State Legislature, requesting $750,000 in emergency funding.

That money would pay for a new fire truck, cover upgrades to city water lines, and match the City of Emmonak’s donation to the Yukon Delta Fisheries Development Association (YDFDA). In addition to owning the five destroyed buildings, the CDQ association runs Emmonak’s commercial fishing and processing industry, which employs almost 2,000 people around the Yukon River Delta.

Without emergency aid, Emmonak City Manager Martin Moore said the fire’s damage could cripple the area’s economy. “The community cannot afford to miss a fishing season, and the people and businesses will suffer irreparable harm without immediate assistance to rebuild in time for the 2016 season,” he wrote in the disaster declaration.

The city itself is donating $150,000 to the YDFDA. That donation will cut water usage fees in half for subsidiary Kwik’Pak Fisheries, provide four acres of land to rebuild on at half the standard rate, and allow free use of the city’s heavy equipment to clean up debris from the fire.

Rep. Neal Foster (D-Nome) will request emergency funding before the state legislature on behalf of the City of Emmonak.

“It’s going to shape what rural Alaska looks like over the next 10 or 20 years,” said Foster.

Foster said he’s fighting proposed cuts to low-income heating assistance, preschool education funding, and broadband internet support — all services near-and-dear to those off the road system.

“It concerns me and it frustrates me that I’m seeing a number of cuts targeted toward rural Alaska,” he said. “I think things are shaping up to be a real showdown here. It’s not going to get any prettier from here on out.”

Beyond those cuts, Governor Bill Walker’s budget proposal would introduce a state income tax. According to Foster, the tax wouldn’t be too costly for most rural Alaskans.

“I think it’s a fairly small amount to ask for,” he said. “If you’re a single person and you make $50,000 a year and you don’t have any kids, that amounts to $341. If you’re married with two kids, your income tax would be $15.”

But Walker’s plan would also reduce dividend payouts from the Permanent Fund, which Foster doesn’t support.

“If you take $1,000 from somebody’s Permanent Fund [dividend] and that person makes $10,000 a year, that’s 10 percent of their income,” he said.

If the state does cut back on PFD checks, Foster said he’ll propose reducing dividends in proportion to income to minimize the impact on rural Alaskans.

As state lawmakers debate how to handle the deficit, Foster said he wants to hear more on the issues that matter to his constituents.

“I do want to very much encourage everybody in our district — from Shishmaref down to Hooper Bay and from Gambell and Savoonga all the way to Ruby — that if there’s any time that we want to hear from them, it’s now. This really is a history-making moment,” he said.

Foster said constituents can contact him by mail, email, and phone as well as through their city and tribal councils.

]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2016/03/01/rep-foster-fights-proposed-cuts-to-rural-services-but-supports-state-income-tax/feed/221248Potential Legislation Could Close Small Schools in Diomede, Nome, and Other Western Communitieshttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2015/11/09/potential-legislation-could-close-schools-in-diomede-nome-and-other-western-communities/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2015/11/09/potential-legislation-could-close-schools-in-diomede-nome-and-other-western-communities/#commentsMon, 09 Nov 2015 19:17:38 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=19468To receive state funding, Alaska schools must have a minimum of 10 students. But some lawmakers are looking at raising the number to 20 or 25. ]]>http://www.knom.org/wp-audio/2015/11/2015-11-09-WAK-minimum-enrollment.mp3

To receive state funding, Alaska schools must have a minimum of 10 students. At least, that’s the rule right now. But some lawmakers are looking at raising the number to 20 students — or even 25 — in an effort to slash state spending. If passed, the legislation could close around 60 schools statewide, including several in western Alaska.

On the chopping block are small schools in Nome, Bethel, Kaltag, and Koyukuk. But perhaps the biggest impact would come in Diomede, where Principal Pamala Potter said the school plays several critical roles in the small island community.

“It is the center of the community,” said Potter. “We always have power and we always have heat. And sometimes, for whatever reason, the community doesn’t. We’re the safe place. We’re the haven.”

Once — when helicopter service stalled for six weeks and the island went without food deliveries — Potter said people turned to the school for three meals a day. Another time — when the generators gave out — the school provided everyone with a safe place to sleep. First and foremost, though, Potter said the Diomede School is all about: “The excitement of our children learning!”

“And not only academic knowledge — reading, writing, arithmetic — but their culture,” Potter said. “On Wednesdays, we have our Eskimo dancing. We do beading Friday nights. We have elders come in and speak with the kids. So it’s that safe place academically. It’s a safe place emotionally. It’s the whole world.”

But with just 19 students, the Diomede School is in danger. If lawmakers raised minimum enrollment to 20 or 25, the school would lose state funding. And without that support, Superintendent Bobby Bolen said the Bering Strait School District would face a tough decision: stretch their resources to keep the school running, or shut it down.

Districts statewide would have to make the same choice for all schools falling below the benchmark. But Bolen said losing schools — and the services they provide — would hit rural communities especially hard. In Diomede, for instance, he said a school shutdown could force many families to move to the mainland. And if enough families go, so might the entire island community.

BSSD passed a resolution against the potential legislation at a school board meeting last week, but Bolen said that’s not always enough to make rural voices heard.

“Unfortunately, the urban, road-system schools and districts tend to dictate what happens in many of the rural communities,” said Bolen. “It’s one of those things where we can lobby and pass resolutions, but we get put on the back burner a little bit. We’re kind of at the mercy of the legislature.”

Rep. Neal Foster is a Democrat from Nome, and he represents several western Alaska communities in the state legislature. He said the potential legislation could shave almost $6 million from the state budget, but that’s not much in the grand scheme of things. In fact, Foster said the savings would represent less than one-tenth of one percent of Alaska’s entire budget.

Given the state deficit and slumping oil prices, though, Foster said he knows some cuts are inevitable — and that legislators will have to start somewhere. Even so, he said he would propose uniform, across-the-board cuts for all state departments rather than target education, which he calls a “core function of government.”

“This is an constitutional mandate,” said Foster. “There are a lot of things out there that we want, and then there are a lot of things that we need. And education is a need. If you have to rank things, education has got to be at the top.”

Some have proposed distance learning and home schooling as alternatives. But Bolen said those aren’t viable options for many rural communities, where internet service can be unreliable and supplies can be difficult and expensive to ship. Rep. Foster added that those alternatives also raise the issue of fair treatment.

“The question of equality comes up,” said Foster. “Are you providing the same level of education for people in rural areas as you are in other areas?”

And with many small schools incorporating local culture, Potter said it wouldn’t be right for students to have to leave their homes to receive an education.

“I understand budgets, but to base the entire lives of the children on the back of money … Our children are precious, and they deserve to have their education,” said Potter. “They deserve to go to school where they live.”

Rep. Foster said discussions about the legislation are still in the early stages. More concrete proposals would come in January during the legislature’s next session.

From the roof at Nome-Beltz to payroll processing at the district office, the school board talked upgrades at their work session last week.

The first fixes on the board’s agenda were those coming from a recent fire marshal’s inspection of Nome Public Schools. Dean Maschner is in charge of maintenance and janitorial services for the district. He said some of the required changes will be small — like adjustments to the fire alarm system and the magnetized doors at each exit.

“With the fire marshal report, there’s a lot of little things that are easily corrected. The overwhelming problem has to do with our generator,” he said. “A lot of the emergency lights have been neglected with the excuse that there’s an emergency generator that takes over right away. But we don’t have an emergency generator. We have a standby generator.”

That standby generator is from 1964. Maschner said it may be working now, but there’s no guarantee it could handle the electrical load needed in an emergency. Particular areas of concern include the tunnel between Nome-Beltz Jr/Sr High and Anvil City Science Academy as well as the gym at Nome-Beltz, which needs another fire exit in addition to upgraded emergency lighting.

Maschner said some of the changes will be handled by the district’s in-house maintenance crew in the coming months, while others will have to be contracted out. Total costs are estimated at $30,000.

While the district can cover those costs, superintendent Shawn Arnold says there’s not enough for a new roof at Nome-Beltz.

“The roof leaks have increased more and more and more,” said Arnold. “It’s to the point there are some ceiling tiles that are falling in. We have pipes that are growing mold from the constant leaks. The worst area is the gym. I think it was six trash cans — at last count — to catch the different drips.”

Arnold said the district hired engineers to inspect the chronically leaky roof, which was last renovated around 2003, and they recommended a complete replacement. The district is waiting on second opinions from other engineering firms, but the construction — if it moves forward — could cost $2 million.

That’s beyond the district’s budget, which has left the board looking for other funding.

Board president Betsy Brennan said the City of Nome managed the earlier renovations, and there may be recourse depending on the terms of that contract. Another option is to appeal to local legislators. Arnold said Rep. Neal Foster has been made aware of the problem and taken a tour of the school to see the conditions.

In the meantime, Arnold said second opinions will determine if the leaky roof is just an inconvenience or the sign of a greater structural problem.

“As far as the roof goes — structurally, is it sound?” asked Brennan. “Obviously, leaks are not good, but…”

Arnold said, “As other engineer firms come up to take a look, that’s something that we want to talk to them about, because [the first firm] had concerns.”

He said renovations to the roof would start next summer at the earliest.

And in upgrades beyond construction, the board discussed improving the district’s business operations.

Despite job postings at the regional, state, and national levels, Arnold said there hasn’t been one candidate qualified to replace outgoing business manager Paula Coffman — even after six months. To give the applicant pool time to recover, Arnold is suggesting the district partner with Alaska Education and Business Services, a company that takes on accounting, purchasing, and other business tasks for school districts around the state.

Arnold said the organization could save the district money and modernize the business department before they continue the search for Coffman’s replacement. The superintendent said he’ll officially bring the idea before the board at their next regular meeting — Tuesday, Oct. 13.

Bering Straits Native Corporation shareholders can look forward to an eventful weekend, as BSNC holds its annual shareholders meeting in Nome on Saturday and prepares to payout a $500 elders dividend.

Ahead of the meeting, the BSNC board of directors last month declared a dividend of $3.25 per share. “The average Bering Straits shareholder owns 100 shares of stock,” BSNC communications director Miriam Aarons said, which means an average dividend of $325.

In all the payout to shareholders is over about $2,058,225 to more than 7,100 eligible shareholders. This year the dividend it equal to what was distributed to shareholders last December.

Senior shareholders will also be getting an extra $500 “elders dividend,” similar to a one-time $500 special dividend issued last February to BSNC elders.

“There are some restrictions,” Aarons pointed out. “Shareholders must be original enrollees and they have to be 65 years of age or older on Nov. 10, which was the day of record.”

Beyond dividends, the weekend meeting is where shareholders will select five new board members from among 14 candidates. The five candidates with the most votes will get the open seats for a 3-year term.

Five of those running are incumbents who have sat on the board before: Jason Evans, Neal Foster, Steve Ivanoff, Lee Ryan, and Percy Nayokpuk.

The other nine candidates would be new to the BSNC board. They include Roy Agloinga, Ella Anagick, Deborah Atuk, Daisy Chiskok, Patrick Johanson, Rebecca Neagle, Haven Harris, Marie Tozier, and Tony Weyiouanna, Sr.

“Bering Straits really values shareholder involvement,” Aarons said of the vote. “It’s really important that shareholders continue to have a say in the future of our company. And one way to do so is to participate in the voting process at the meeting.”

This weekend’s meeting will also feature an update from BSNC President and CEO Gail Schubert, and an update from the corporation’s Land and Resources Committees. The native corporation will also award the 2015 “Young Providers” award, given to young people from the region who contribute “to the health and well-being of their families, communities and culture.”

This year’s awards will go to Shaktoolik’s Heather Jackson and Nick Hanson of Unalakleet.

Jackson, a 20-year-old basketball enthusiast, “was taught and embraces the subsistence way of life by providing for her family and the Elders year-round in her village,” a release from BSNC notes. Hanson, who competed on the TV show “American Ninja Warrior”, is an active community member, NYO athlete, and suicide prevention advocate.

Hanson will receive the award honoring Herbie Nayokpuk, known as the “Shishmaref Cannonball,” who was well known as an avid Iditarod musher. Jackson’s award honors Sinrock Mary, known as the “Queen of Reindeer,” who overcame personal hardship and discriminatory laws against women and Alaska Natives to become a successful business woman.

As the Alaska Native corporation for the Bering Strait and Norton Sound region established through the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, BSNC and its subsidiaries have continued lucrative federal contracts, from operations support for “police peacekeeping” in Africa, to security at a submarine base in the state of Georgia. The company has also expanded its Alaska holdings with the purchase of Arcticom, a mobile radio services company, and the acquisition of the Alaska Industrial Hardware store chain in August.

For four communities affected by this spring’s poor walrus harvest, help is on its way in the form of 10,000 pounds of halibut.

Nearly 200 boxes of the fish were delivered to Nome on July 29, according to Kawerak senior planner Donna James. She said the delivery is being sorted and will soon be distributed to Diomede, Gambell, Savoonga, and Wales.

The halibut comes as a donation from SeaShare, a Washington state nonprofit that supplies seafood to hunger-relief efforts.

All four communities declared states of economic disaster after a spring harvest that Vera Metcalf called significantly worse than usual. Metcalf is director of the Eskimo Walrus Commission and worked with the communities to declare their disasters. She said the Commission reached out to the state of Alaska and the Governor’s Office for help, through Rep. Neal Foster and Sen. Donny Olson.

“Their staffs were really good about following up with our concerns, making sure the communities were aware that the State of Alaska and Walker’s administration were aware of the situation,” Metcalf said. “And this halibut came around and it was available and it’s free and the communities wanted access to that.”

The U.S. Coast Guard brought the frozen halibut to Nome free of charge, and James said Kawerak is working with Bering Air, Erickson Helicopters, and Ravn Alaska to organize free freight delivery to the four communities.

Although the donation is good news, Metcalf said it’s only a temporary solution as climate change makes hunting more difficult.

“In the event that another disaster is declared — What do we do? And how do we move forward? We need to come up with a long-term plan,” she said.

For now, Metcalf said the donation will be a big help, even if it doesn’t entirely solve the food shortages.

“I know it won’t fill the nutritional value that a walrus or other marine mammals provide, but it’s there and it’ll be put to good use,” she said.

The halibut will ship out as soon Kawerak can coordinate delivery with the different airlines. Kawerak will then distribute the fish equally to households in each community.